For more than 6,200 Aggies from more than 12 class years and three campuses, this weekend marks a huge milestone in their time in Aggieland.
This April Ring Day marks the largest ring day to date, surpassing last year’s April Ring Day, which had around 5,900 rings given out. While the classes of 2017 and 2018 take center stage this Ring Day, several other classes will be receiving a ring as well. Classes of 1950, 1966, 1969, 1980,  2016, 2019 and 2020, will all be involved this weekend said Kathryn Greenwade, vice president of the Association of Former Students.
“Most of these [non-2017/2018 classes] will be replacement rings. I know of at least one — a 1980 ring — that is the first ring for an individual,” Greenwade said. “Its an individual who enrolled here in 1976 and academic progress didn’t go as planned. He left and spent 30 years in the Army, then returned and now has the needed hours to get his ring.”
The class of 2020 will see two rings given out, both for Ph.D. students. There will be two days for ring pick up, Friday and Saturday, and according to Greenwade Saturday will be the more relaxed of the two.
“Saturday will be a little bit easier to navigate,” Greenwade said. “It’ll be a little more relaxed. It will still be a celebratory environment, but we won’t have the full range of activities that we will have on Friday.”
Greenwade said the activities planned for Friday include food and beverages, the A&M Cavalry with the cannon, Ring Day T-shirt booths and photographers.
Three campuses will be providing rings: A&M-College Station, A&M-Galveston and the A&M School of Law. The Galveston campus will give out 170 rings and the Law School will give out 45. The Galveston campus and the Law School will have their own ceremonies, but students receiving their ring from the Galveston campus will have the option of picking it up in College Station.
The full breakdown for Ring Day includes more than 6,200 rings, 2,974 of which will go to men, and 3,262 to women.
The class of 2018 will receive 3,192 rings, the class of 2017 will receive 2,439 rings, the class of 2016 will receive 143 rings, the class of 2019 receive 132 rings, and the class of 2020 will be given two rings. The remaining rings span class years from 1950 to 2015.
Greenwade said for an Aggie, receiving an Aggie Ring is a monumental moment not just for them, but for their family as well.
“Its one of the most significant milestones of your Aggie experience,” Greenwade said. “It’s an academic accomplishment, its highly anticipated, and it makes you a very identifiable member of the Aggie Network. I think for families, it’s a proud moment for multi-generation Aggie families, but it’s also a very proud moment for those first generation college student families. It’s a proud moment in different ways, but equally significant.”